Perspectief 2017-36

2017-36 JT Chapter 2: Lutheran responses 31 Reageer popularity amongst the German population, reaching a particularly low point after the terror attacks in Paris in November 2015 and the sexual assaults in Cologne on New Year’s Eve 2015. Both situations were initially believed to have been instigated by refugees. In spite of the German population’s and her party’s decreasing trust in her, Merkel has remained adamant in her opinion that Germany must remain open to refugees. In December 2015, she reminded her party members that the CDU’s political ideology is rooted in “the God-given dignity of each individual person. That means that today, it isn’t a mass of people that is coming to us. It means they are individuals.” A few weeks later she remarked that this dignity, anchored in the German constitution, did not solely apply to Germans or to Europeans, but “to all people – to every person as God’s creature.” 110 4. Critical voices However, as in the Roman Catholic Church, several influential Lutherans have spoken out against receiving refugees in their countries. Merkel’s own party CDU forms a remarkable example. While she, being the CDU’s leader, has spoken out in favour of resettling refugees in Europe, some of the party’s Christian members disagree. Even before the attacks in Paris she was attacked by the local CDU of Saxony, which accused her of naivety: “You do not know who comes in. You do not know how many come in. You do not know how many are already here.” 111 These party members are clearly in favour of a more prudent approach. Another example is Sylvi Listhaug, member of the (Evangelical-Lutheran) Church of Norway, who was appointed Minister of Migration and Integration in Norway in December 2015. This position was created in response to the refugee crisis, which caused Norway to experience, like many other European countries, unprecedented numbers of asylum 110 Feldenkirchen, M. & R. Pfister (2016) The isolated chancellor: what is driving Angela Merkel? accessed June 1, 2016 at http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/why-has-angela-merkel-staked-her-legacy- on-the-refugees-a-1073705.html. 111 Focus (2015) Das sind die 5 härtesten Vorwürfe, die sich Angela Merkel in Sachsen anhören musste accessed June 1, 2016 a t http://www.focus.de/video/politik/das-ist-nicht-mehr-meine-kanzlerin-das-sind- die-5-haertesten-vorwuerfe-die-sich-angela-merkel-in-sachsen-anhoeren-musste_id_5015273.html.